If you needed further proof that the DFL doesn’t understand business, they are now pushing to ban employers from requiring a disclosure of criminal history on job applications. That’s right, the same people who don’t think anyone should own guns and if you dare demand the ability to pass one, would have to have your full mental history probed as well as submit to an intensive background check before you can buy one. But they want businesses to stop asking people who would have access to money, private data, and resources if they have been convicted of a felony.

Because you know, businesses have nothing of value that could be stolen or something….. Not to mention many businesses are prohibited by laws to employ felons…. but let’s not get bogged down in the details.

The Senate is so out of touch with reality the 2016 Republican Senate campaign could easily win if they made staggering the Senate terms (not to mention term limits) their corner stone message.

I’m a firm believe that the Minnesota Senate should change their terms to be more like the US Senate where half the members are up every 2 years. Why?

Senate DFLers propose income tax hikes on top 6 percent of filers

Senate Democrats released their tax bill this morning.

It would create a new third tier income tax rate of 9.4 percent on on joint filers with a taxable income $140,960 or more a year. Single filers would pay the new 9.4 percent rate starting at a taxable income of $79,730.

Because since the DFL controlled Senate isn’t up for 4 years, they can be as radical and socialist as they want because they trust the voters will forget they did nothing to help solve the state’s budget problems.

This is a tax increase on the middle class plain and simple. $79K ain’t rich. It ain’t top 1%.

If they were up for election in 2014, Senate Democrats would never have proposed such a preposterous tax bill. A 10% income tax on the middle class on top of the slew of other taxes being proposed… just what do the DFLers think people will do when their take home pay is reduced?

A top secret mission to lure a Fortune 500 Company to Minnesota was exposed last night. DFL Governor Mark Dayton and the DFL Controlled Legislature have been proposing tax increase after tax increase and regulations to regulate regulations so far this year, which have been highlighted as job killing anti-business friendly by Republicans.

Well, in what may be an accident, the DFL leaders in the State have been trying to use Republican ideas to draw in a major company. They’ve proposed exempting this new company from the DFL agenda the rest of the businesses would be forced to deal with, plus handing them taxpayer money that would come from their competitors and the citizens of Minnesota.

PiPress Source: 

Minnesota may aid biotech firm after covert courtship

Following a hush-hush courtship, top Minnesota lawmakers acknowledged Tuesday, April 16, that they are compiling a multimillion-dollar package of public subsidies and tax breaks to encourage an Illinois-based pharmaceutical firm to add 200 high-paying jobs and undertake a substantial construction project in their state.

The extent of the public offerings is becoming known months into a high-level recruitment. The name of the company, Baxter Healthcare Corp., had been constrained by a confidentiality agreement entered into by Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. Even lawmakers who have begun voting on the package didn’t know which firm would benefit.

[...]

The Legislature is advancing a sales tax exemption, a $5 million forgivable loan and possibly more from a package that state officials have been trying to quietly assemble.

Its almost as if Democrats didn’t realize that this ‘covert affair’ would see the light of day.

This perfectly debunks Mark Dayton’s own rhetoric that businesses wouldn’t leave the state because of higher taxes and costs of doing business in Minnesota as pure partisan fodder. Democrats love to say their high taxes and costly regulations won’t drive away job creators, but they have been caught red handed trying to exempt a job creator from their own policies to get them to move here.

So everyone that is already employing Minnesotans has to pay more, and if you even think of leaving, the DFL will demonize you. But they are signing confidentiality agreements to hide the fact that they know that lower taxes and business friendly policies can attract businesses to Minnesota. AKA what Republicans want to do for everyone….

Can we now agree that the DFL is admitting that they are no friend to jobs and business?

In yet another example of what happens if you allow hard working Minnesotans and businesses keep more of their money, we see that tax collections increase over projections.

Unpossible!

The Department of Minnesota Management and Budget says receipts from each of the three major taxes — income taxes, sales taxes and corporate taxes — exceeded expectations.

Governor Dayton and Democrats say that people have to pay their fair share or else tax collections will go down. Then how can the 2010 & 2011 Republican budgets that didn’t raise taxes end up resulting in more tax revenue for the state?

Update: Please don’t get distracted thinking that I’m a huge supporter of Phoenix or anything, this post is about control and who has it. The grassroots controlled party OR people who look at us as an obstacle.

I was at the CD4 GOP convention Saturday. Well, I visited CD3, 5, and 4. But ended the day at CD4. Near the end, Pat Anderson announced that the MNGOP has already decided to hand over its database operations and ownership to outside group(s), that everyone running for state leadership agreed and that it was going to happen. She said this is exactly what the DFL does and its time for the MNGOP to do so as well. - I’d heard the rumors about this, and have even supported the idea in the past.

The idea is supposed to be along the line of “The Colorado Model” where business, owners, big donors, or other interest groups or associations, etc  (like the Chamber & MN Biz Partnership) and/or “Super PACs” take over  and run the database. They build a system (or buy one), clean up the data, and allow people to use it. Its a good model if you have a singular goal, or agreed upon terms. It works very well for the DFL because their base knows that a Democrat winning is the most important thing. We as Republicans, have more principled values, and winning isn’t always all that matters. Many believe some if not most Republicans in public office are no different than Democrats.

When it comes time for the DFL GOTV machine to kick into gear, they push straight ticket no ‘ifs, and’s or but’s about it. They don’t moan and kvetch over this guy or that gal that voted this way once or didn’t pay their BPOU the respect it thought it deserved. Nope, for the DFL, the only thing that matters is that (D) after the name on the ballot and their activists, volunteers, and GOTV goon squad will fight tooth and nail for each and every voter to cast their vote for the Democrat, no questions.

MNGOP activists don’t work that way. While we need to learn from many of the DFL’s tactics in operations, our activists are not lemmings or slaves. If you take a good honest look, the DFL is an anti-grassroots party. Their conventions have checks and balances built in to prevent “getting it wrong” and if they do, their endorsed candidate usually loses in the Primary anyways to who ever the Unions want. Heck, they have quotas to get elected Delegate, walking sub caucuses designed to derail proceedings from the floor of taking control of the business before the body.

But enough of why I am glad I am not a slave in the DFL party.

The 3rd party database model for the MNGOP is probably going to have a buy in process. So if a candidate wants to have the data, there will be a fee or commitment made. I’m not sure if that would be financial, or pledge, or what. But just because BPOU Chair from SD99 says so and so is good so send them the password (like we currently have), isn’t going to fly when someone else owns that data now.

There is apparently a growing desire to go with a 3rd party database  in the MNGOP. Meanwhile, there’s also chest thumping about fighting June Primary because it would allow the Chamber and rich people to undermine the “grassroots” endorsement process. 

Do you spot the huge problem that I do?

On the one hand we want to hand over control and ownership of our biggest resource (data) but on the other we don’t want to trust these very same people in candidate selection.

Why is this a problem? In the DFL, if a local BPOU or CD isn’t doing what it is told to and the DFL needs that District for their plan, they send in the unions or send the work through an outside group. One of their local volunteer leaders isn’t cutting it or doesn’t like the candidate, in comes the paid professional staffer to run local operations.

While I see the merits of that strategy when it comes to winning at all costs, I know that MNGOP activists would scream ‘top down’ and say that you are supposed to walk on the green side of sod not the roots. (attempt to be funny and clever. FAIL)

On a statewide basis this could work, I do believe we GOP activists have to approach endorsements with a much more, just let the primary sort it out” approach. Sorry, but 2 duds in a row and well, fool me once….. I do fully support the endorsement process for Congressional & Legislative races. Its just that a contest of “last man standing” (how I explain the Caucus/endorsement/Delegate selection process) to have 2000 people decide who is best to appeal to 2 million Minnesotans is proving its own faults. The only people to have had any electroal success statewide in Minnesota have run in spite of the objections of the grassroots, that can’t be ignored.

Here’s an example of why the 3rd party model has serious flaws.

DFL Senator Terry Bonnoff is supported by right leaning groups that are likely to have control of the new 3rd party owned database Pat Anderson mentioned on Saturday. The MN Chamber endorsed DFLer Bonoff in 2010 over Republican Liberty Caucus Chair Norann Dillion and again in 2012 over GOP grassroots endorsed David Gaither.

If you are naive enough to think that the people “allegedly” ready to spend their 3rd party war chests to fix our data problem, are going to give a crap if the Executive Committee from SD99 hates the chosen candidate…. Heck, GOP State Rep. Ernie Leidiger endorsed the DFL opponent for GOP Sen. Ortmann. That kind of crap doesn’t work in the business world, and chances are, the business community and professionals are not going to have much patience for the usual grassroots infighting. They will see it as unproductive and quickly solve the problem, and that won’t be finding a new candidate. That will be cutting the problem out of the loop.

Going forward, if the MN Chamber or 3rd party entity,  controls access to the database, what happens to the GOP endorsed candidate or primary winner is different then theirs? Who gets the data? On whose authority? And what if the BPOU doesn’t agree? Do they pull support or access if our guy beats their gal because they know our guy just can’t and/or shouldn’t win?

Think about this folks. You wanna hand over “the data” to the very people you don’t trust to pick the candidates. What happens when grassroots activists pick a candidate other than the Chamber does? Who gets the data? Look at it from their point of view, they have a vested interest in winning elections, not our principles or platform.

Phoenix is far from perfect. I get that. But the party owns it. The party controls it. And the party is responsible and held accountable by the grassroots.

Now let’s get in to the case for why we should stay with Phoenix.

We own it, for better or worse, but *WE* own it. The Party owns it and everything in it. No one can tell us what we can and cannot do with it, and more importantly, no one can tell us what we can do “to” it.

Short of someone finding about $1.5 million dollars laying around give to the party to buy a brand new system, to replace all our VOIP phones, servers, websites, and other things, (This is above and beyond the current debt) the only other options are the 3rd party “Chamber” model” or the RNC system. I’ve gone over some of the bad points above on the 3rd party model so let’s look at the RNC system.

I believe the RNC system is no longer called Voter Vault, its something like Data Center or what not. But here’s the big rub, scrapping Phoenix and going tot he RNC system doesn’t remove the Phoenix budget line item from the party’s budget. From what I understand, we don’t just plug in to some server in DC. Its a DC based system but run locally. Basically they wrote the software, and we have to run it here locally.  We would still have to run and maintain that data here. (Just like we are right now.) It is shared back and forth, but we would still need staff, servers, resources, and money to run the RNC system for just Minnesota.

The fact of the matter is, in some states or select Congressional Districts, yes the RNC helps and pitches in, but given the condition of the Republican Party of Minnesota compared to the footing of the DFL’s and the recent electoral calamities that we have put forth for statewide officer, the RNC wisely won’t waste resources here on a losing proposition. Nor should they in my opinion. They shouldn’t subsidize  poorly run and performing state parties. Its time for the grassroots to share some blame in our state party’s last 4 years. Everyone is great at pointing fingers until they get in front of a mirror.  I’ll save that for a later time, but the point is, we elected Carey, Sutton, and Brodkorb as well as endorsed Emmer & Bills. The results speak for themselves. So does that ash heap over there known as the party.

Frankly I am getting sick and tired of fighting over who to blame for what went right and what went wrong.

Unless Joe Mauer retires from Baseball to run against Mark Dayton, the RNC & Governor’s association are not going to even take a phone call from Minnesota. And if we still haven’t had anyone begin to start talking to the general public and not focussed entirely on GOP Delegates, until next May or June after the endorsement, they will block our phone number because that’s too late.

And even if Matt Birk does run against Al Franken and we have the name ID battle on the same page, the NRSC & RNC are not going to even consider spending a dime in Minnesota. Their logic firmly grounded in the 2012 US Senate results where the grassroots candidate had the worst election performance in modern history for a statewide candidate from a major party, and there have still not been one single set of reforms or at least mea culpa’s over the condition of the party or quality of the candidate. (And yes, I am looking at you grassroots)

In my opinion, the notion of “I hate Phoenix because it doesn’t do what I want so anything has to be better”, it is a lateral move at best, but one we would regret forever. 

Because the chance of a Republican winning statewide in 2014 appear to be, logically, somewhere between slim and fat chance. Its funny, because that’s about the same odds as us getting a bunch of big names in for fundraisers or for RNC staffers and national money to be airdropped in. So if we think that the RNC system we agreed to use, should be changed to do something that works for a BPOU or even if we at the State level want it to be able to perform some new specific function, the RNC isn’t going to change it just for us. Its a one size fits all solution and that’s a problem. Minnesota is a unique state.

Admittedly, I never seen or ever used the RNC system so maybe it is perfect. But what if it isn’t? What if it can’t do everything that Phoenix (whether it does it well or not) currently does for us? What if they don’t allow every single endorsed candidate to use it? During GOTV, I may or may not have seen  local volunteers deciding to add local candidates to GOTV calls. Some may have even  written the names of their County Commissioners into the script, or strayed from it in ways that would be, let’s just say, hard to explain to certain people. Some locals like to do things their own way, and more power to them, but when you buy in to someone else’s system, you work for them now. Its everything on the RNC’s terms. Go ask Bill Paulsen to tell you about the RNC… in case you missed his stump speech.

No matter whether we go 3rd party or RNC on a new database, we’d lose grassroots control and make the Republican Party at all levels virtually useless.

No more meaningful endorsements, no more database. Well what good is a state party with a 3rd party owned database who also controls the candidate selection? Do you think they will care if you endorsed someone else for Mayor, County Commissioner, or State House than they did? Do you think they would have left your phones on, if they knew you were going off script? No, they’d shut you down from DC. Your phones would go dead on GOTV weekend. There’s no incentive for big donors to give anymore. The State Party and all its affiliates would shrivel and die because, unfortunately, a platform is not enough to stand on let alone run a statewide organization on.

Plus, do you really think that they will actually give the grassroots access to the system? I’m guessing it would be read only and you won’t even be able to make changes if you find out someone is really a Democrat, but is marked as a Republican. Either way, they will have delays in updating as chances are it will be verified first. If you think Phoenix is slow, just wait until Minnesota is the lowest priority on that RNC data guy’s list and he  has a stack from every other purple or swing state ahead of Blue State Minnesota’s.

Just think about the logistics for a while folks because this will have lasting effects on the party. While we may enjoy conventions and monthly meetings, they will serve no real purpose. The people with the power and control will no longer be at those meetings.

So, on to the case for Phoenix. 

Since we own Phoenix, we can control not only who has access (as in candidates & BPOUs) but also how it works and what it can do. If there’s a problem or glitch, we can fix it. If it doesn’t do something we need it to, we can fix that. That’s something that will not be possible with the outsourcing options. Yes, it takes money to run our own database, and no it hasn’t been done that well. But just like we hastily and for suspect reasons went to Phoenix, change for change’s sake is not a good enough reason.

Phoenix isn’t perfect, it may not even be good, but its the best option we have to keeping grassroots control of our party. Its going to take work. Its going to take money and effort to get it better and the data better. But, that’s going to have to happen anyways. Someone will have to fix the data, the system, the question is, after its done, who has control of it?

The grassroots, or the people we are supped to be afraid of taking away our endorsement process?

Update 2: I’ve talked to a number of people today.  Contrary to what Ms. Anderson said, this is NOT a done deal and  most people are wondering who she was talking. Maybe this will make them realize that they shouldn’t trust her, but hey, that’s just me.

But there is something happening. And it has to. The question is about who controls controls access and how. Its become clear today that there are different tiers involved, and not everyone understand they aren’t at the head table.

I thought I had the full picture, but did not. Still don’t, but the more I learn the less worried I am. That being said, its a major change and people should be aware of what is happening.

Chose your party leaders wisely,.
I trust Keith Downey, Kelly Fenton, & Chris Fields to make the right call at the State Executive Committee level.
 

The DFL controlled  Minnesota House passed their homegrown version of Obamacare last night, the Minnesota HEalth Insurance Exchange. It had bipartisan opposition. It was hastily amended to remove a provision that required lawmakers to live under the laws that they propose. HEre is Minority Leader Daudt’s statement.

St. Paul- The Minnesota House of Representatives voted Friday to pass the Minnesota Democrats’ Insurance Exchange (House File 5) by a vote of 72-61. No Republican member of the House voted in support of the bill. House Republican Leader Kurt Daudt (Crown) gave the following statement in response to its passage.

“The Democrats’ Insurance Exchange was bad last week and it’s worse today. Not only does this bill increase costs for Minnesotans, it limits their choices in health insurance coverage and fails to protect private patient data. Democrats also removed language that would require legislators to purchase their insurance through the Exchange. If the Democrats are finally admitting their Exchange isn’t good for us, why won’t they admit that higher costs, fewer choices and less privacy aren’t good for the rest of Minnesota?”

We may have been better off letting the Feds in because the DFL created an unaccountable body that will dictate your health care options (read: ration). The Met Council has a sister bureaucracy now that will dictate what we can and cannot do that is untouchable and unaccountable to the citizens.

There’s a pattern evolving in the DFL controlled Minnesota House. Paying attention and staying awake during Committee Hearings is optional.

A dedicated reader of Residual Forces sent this image from the Kare 11 Story on the DFL’s latest Snack food tax.

On the left hand side of the image is DFL Rep. Dan Erhadrt 49A taking yet another “nap” during a committee hearing. I am told this is happening A LOT this session.

First the DFLers hand over bill introduction and calling of supporting witnesses to the lobbyist pushing it, next they walk out on testifiers that debunk their entire argument for restricting Minnesotans’ rights, and they allow one of their DFL colleagues to catch up on his beauty rest.

Its almost as if they don’t take Governing seriously.

Strib: Gov. Dayton gets standing ovation from business group
PiPress: Dayton scolds business leaders for opposition to tax overhaul

Those stories are both about the very same event. Video of this Dayton tantrum would be amazing to see.

If you go on to read both stories, you’ll find out that Dayton went in angry and clinging to his principles and determined to lecture business leaders, not listen.

Mark Dayton is bad for business and jobs are created when businesses thrive. Mark Dayton only cares about Government thriving.

Democrats have unveiled another laundry list of taxes at the State Capital. This one is relates to transportation. Two words: Job killer. 

Its Rep. Erhardt’s bill HF931 (pdf) Emphasis mine)

• authorizing and appropriating $800.8 million in trunk highway bonds, provided at $100 million per year over fiscal years 2014-17;
• raising registration taxes by increasing the rate (from 1.25 percent to 1.375 percent of depreciated base value) as well as the flat fee (from $10 to $20);
• establishing a late payment penalty for some registration taxes;
• increasing taxes on motor fuels by a total of 9.5 cents per gallon for gasoline and diesel with proportional increases for other fuel types, which is phased in over fiscal years 2014-17;
• allocating all revenue from motor vehicle lease sales tax to transportation purposes;
• expanding the general sales tax to include motor vehicle repairs and service, with revenues allocated to transportation purposes;
• amending exemptions to the general sales tax to include purchases made with constitutionally dedicated transportation funds;
• eliminating some exemptions from the motor vehicle sales tax;
• raising the flat tax, from $90 to $150, imposed on sales of collector vehicles in lieu of the motor vehicle sales tax;
• modifying the county wheelage tax, to expand the authority to all counties and eliminate a $5 cap;
• raising the rate, from 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent, for the metropolitan area transportation sales tax and requiring allocation of a one-third of revenues to county highways;
• eliminating a referendum requirement on the local option transportation sales tax for counties in Greater Minnesota; and
• authorizing cities to establish municipal street improvement districts.

I’m sitting here adding up all the added costs that would result from this bill. Not just me personally, but also our business. And that is just the stated increases, this bill would remove multiple layers of accountability by removing referendums and caps that would allow local cities and counties to tax at will.

Two other words come to mind after reading that summary: Term Limits. Its time for term limits in Minnesota.

If this passes, this is yet another shining example of why you should not consider opening a business in Minnesota if Democrats are in charge. And newsflash folks, not everyone works for the Government, so if you want a good paying job, you need people that will want to run a business here.

Its interesting to me that whenever Government is projected to have a deficit, there are talks of spending cuts, or even reductions in the growth rate of it, Democrats trot out the Police, firefighters, old people, and school kids to use as a backdrop to force Republicans to increase taxes. Every single time there is not bipartisan support to increase taxes, the Democrats rattle off the same laundry list of services that will be cut or people that will lose their jobs. Its like clock work.

Now there is political motivation for why they do that, but the point it, they claim to understand some basic business principles. The idea is that if you restrict the amount of revenue Government has available to it, that things will have to change. They will have to find savings or cut spending. They always go for the jugular of schools, seniors, and first responders.

Perpetual and permanent government growth is the Democrats Alamo. They know that if Americans and Minnesotans remember/”figure out” that they can get a better deal, have better choices, and more freedom and liberty through the private sector that their quest for absolute power over the lives of us is over.Its why they oppose any education reforms empowering parents to do what is best for their kids. Unions remove the ability for localities to cater their pay and benefits to meet the local market supply and demand. Its one size fits all, let us make this decision for you.

A eerily plausible fictional interpretation of what Democrats truly envision is part of the Atlas Shrugged movies. Part 2 includes Directive 10-289.

You see evidence of that in DFL State Rep. Ryan Winkler’s minimum wage proposal which prohibits businesses from reacting to Government actions. Take a look at his latest amendment to the Minimum wage increase which shines a light on the scary similarities between modern day Democrats and the Wesley Mouch of Atlas Shrugged.

“Large employer” means an enterprise whose annual gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $625,000…”

[...]

“No employer may take any action to displace an employee, including a partial displacement through a reduction in hours, wages, or employment benefits, in order to hire an employee at the wage authorized in this paragraph.”

[...]

“EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.”

I’m no economist and we hire a bookkeeper, but chances are our modest 5 employee company fits Winkler’s “large employer” definition. Just as the SAFE Act and Wall Street bills were aimed at millionaires and billionaires, little mom and pop shops, doing good and honest work providing goods and services with nary a complaint, end up getting squashed under the same iron fist of bureaucrats and progressive do-gooders.

Case in point. Winkler’s law will prohibit companies from doing exactly what he says Government will be forced to do if taxes aren’t increased. People will be fired or as Obama says with Sequestration, government workers will be furloughed.

Somehow Government understands that it takes money for private employers to actually employ people, but it doesn’t care that higher taxes, mandates wage increases, and government red tape all make that harder to do. Just imagine if they had the self awareness to pretend that their sacred Government was a private business and they were the CEO. The roles reversed. They understand the economic of business, the problem is their business is Government.

I could go on, but the point is, isn’t it ironic that whenever spending cuts are mentioned, Democrats squeal like pigs, yet they call businesses and private citizens greedy and unpatriotic when they have a similar reaction to Government wanting to take more of their money away.